RESPECT. Premiere: Marty Grimes – ‘Martyjuana’ + Interview

Whenever Marty Grimes isn’t touring across the globe with his childhood best friend G-Eazy, you can catch him making some dank pizza back in his hometown of the Bay Area, California, launching his own strain of marijuana (Martyjuana), helping to pay family bills, and striving to be a role model to his five younger brothers. In the midst of it all, he managed to make the time to perfect his craft and curate his latest 12-track mixtape, Martyjuana which is his most elucidating work yet. Marty made sure to hold nothing back and tells prolific stories about the come up, the ladies, and his appreciation for the finer things in life. Grimes took his work to an entire new level and showed everyone what he’s really made of. Fans are going to be jamming out to this tape for weeks to come and newcomers will wonder why they’ve been sleeping this entire time.

The hustle does not stop with the release of his mixtape – Marty began his West Coast Martyjuana tour in Salt Lake City, Utah on January 25th with Cal Scruby. The Berkeley artist isn’t new to pleasing crowds, having recently been invited to open for Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, Migos, Boosie Badazz, and Juvenile at Oakland’s Oracle Arena. Last month, he participated in pop-up events around Oakland leading up to a stadium show with G-Eazy and other Bay Area mainstays including Larry June and Caleborate. With that much experience under his belt, it’s hard to believe the tickets to Martyjuana are only $13.

The phrase “Never Not Working” is truly an understatement for Berkeley hustle king Marty Grimes – he managed to set aside some time on the first day of his headlining tour to chat with RESPECT. about what he has in store while he’s on the road, future projects, and how he makes time to devise his work throughout the grind.

Photo Credits: Alex Gonzalez

RESPECT.: Why did you choose the title Martyjuana for this mixtape?This next project I wanted to put out music similar to what I actually listen to. When I burn one I don’t usually wanna listen to some turnt up music, I normally catch a vibe to something chill. Some time ago I was presented with an opportunity to have my own weed strain, which I named Martyjuana. Since then that’s all I’ve been smoking while making music, and I chose to name the mixtape after it.

RESPECT.: Your album “Nobody Said It Was Easy” dropped just a year ago, and throughout that time you were hustling around the U.S. on tour with your bro G-Eazy… How did you make the time to devise your Martyjuana mixtape as well as drop SoundCloud tracks on the regular?

I make music constantly, being on the road with G gave me time to write while driving city to city. Off tour I work at the pizza shop a couple days out the week and the other 4 to 5 days I’m taking the bus down to LA to record with my bro bro KDE. We get a few tracks done almost every time I’m down there, some to release and others I feel fit the vibe of the mixtape I’m saving for later release.

RESPECT.: Although the Martyjuana tour isn’t your first go-round pleasing crowds, it’s your first headlining tour so that is a huge deal in your career as an artist. Can you explain what you have in store and what you’re looking forward to with the fans and having the stage completely solo-dolo?

I’ve been waiting for this moment for the longest, it’s nothing like having your own team with you playing your music for a crowd that came for you. Anyone coming can expect a litty party. These rooms are small and intimate, so I feel like people will get to really experience the show. Every one tells me my live music is better because you can really feel the energy when I’m performing. We turn up, we get personal, we get lit, I’m bringing martyjuana and makers to every stop.

RESPECT.: Is there a particular message that you’re trying to communicate through your music and your brand that people may not know about you?

I’m trying to promote good life – trying to make people understand we all go through things but in the end we still choose the way we feel about our own lives.

RESPECT.: In “Wishin'” you tell the story of hitting up a girl late at night, wishing to tell her how you really feel – are you in a relationship now and is this girl the one you rap about in other songs on this tape?

Nah, I’m not currently in a relationship with anyone except music, lol. She does exist though. My stories consist of my past experiences, some might be bits and pieces from different situations and some might be what actually went down.

RESPECT.: Your sound on Martyjuana is one of your most telling pieces to date, after listening, your fans are going to better than they ever have. What pushed you to open up this much in these tracks?

I really just wanted to tell my story, I guess you can say they helped push me because I felt they didn’t know enough about me. That’s the reason I didn’t have many features, I wanted to them to hear and understand me 100%.

RESPECT.: After hearing Martyjuana, your fans are bound to be eager for an album – is that something that you’re working on now?

I’m actually working on another mixtape and album at the same time, as well as visuals. Me and KDE don’t stop working.